


A Moment of Weakness

by glindathegood



Category: Lady Helen Series -Alison Goodman
Genre: F/M, The Dark Days Club, The Dark Days Pact, There was no fanfiction so I took matters into my own hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 14:44:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12866709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glindathegood/pseuds/glindathegood
Summary: The Dark Days Club's search for the Grand Deceiver leads Lady Helen and Lord Carlston on a game changing mission- A mission that will also change the course of their relationship.





	A Moment of Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler Warning for The Dark Days Pact  
> I love this series more than I expected to, and finding no fandom whatsoever and a year to wait in between books, it appears I had to take matters into my own hands.

Helen’s eyes shot open as if she had fallen from a great height into the bed. The morning sunlight greeted her with intense disorientation, a strange feeling of the sheets against her skin, and a curious weight next to her in bed. Her mind raced, temporarily overcome by the recollection of the previous night’s battle.  
__________  
She was isolated, no other living being in sight. A sense of foreboding, which she had pushed away from the moment she entered the meeting point, was now far too strong to ignore. Pulsing fear coursed through her veins, and she knew instantly they were in trouble. A shout of pain sounded from the street below. Carlston.  
Blast. She should not have left him alone, but the informant demanded that only one of them enter the house. The identity, or rather identities, of the Grand Deceiver was so close she could taste it. They had to comply. But Helen tore through every room of the derelict house, with no Deceiver to be found. A sudden sense of urgency and adrenaline pulled everything together. There was never any information at all. They had been tricked.  
Helen took a deep breath, refreshing her senses. ‘Focus,’ she told herself, reaching out with her deceiver hearing. It didn’t take long to pinpoint the location of the shout, and the continuing scuffle of a battle. She heard Carlston’s familiar breathing, a wave of reassurance washing over her. He was winded, but still fighting. Two pairs of feet shuffled on the pavement, giving Helen pause. That was not the usual light feet of a Reclaimer like Carlston. There were two deceivers.  
With incredible speed, Helen launched herself down the stairs, out the door, and around the corner into a dimly lit alleyway. Her reclaimer sight easily distinguished the three figures- Carlstons broad frame sweeping toward two shadows, one wide and one lanky. She paused just at the alley entrance, ducking behind the building. In a swift motion, she pulled out her touch watch, snapping open the enameled case to reveal the glass. A heart stopping sight greeted her when she put it to her eye. This was no normal Deceiver life force. Each one had a whip, nearly two. Carlston would not last much longer. Even as that terrifying thought took over Helen’s mind, the taller Deceiver’s budding energy shot forward in a new whip, catching Carlston by surprise. He narrowly managed to grab it mid attack, struggling with the shock of the power. Where was Quinn? Carlston would need his Terrene, if indeed he survived this fight.  
Helen could wait no longer. She stuffed her touch watch back into the protective pocket of her jacket and sprung into action. The wide Deceiver approached Carlston, shooting out a whip. Even in this vulnerable state, he managed to catch it, wrestling two Deceivers at once. Helen lunged forward, sliding her blade out of its sheath in a fluid motion. It sailed through the air, straight into the back of the wide deceiver. He hissed in pain, but could not relinquish his whip from Carlston’s grip. ‘Let go, for God’s sake!” she thought, twisting around Carlston to attack the other Deceiver. But even with her Reclaimer speed, she missed the Deceiver’s movement. The third whip slammed into Carlston, slamming him back against the brick wall. His body went still as Helen screamed his name. She winced at the impact, their connection causing a shudder that travelled through her whole body.  
The wide Deceiver stumbled back, now feeling the full effect of his wound, but the two whipped Deceiver seemed unfazed. He turned to Helen with a wicked smile, and she readied herself for the fight. The Deceiver held nothing back, flicking both whips toward her at lightning speed with a grin of satisfaction. He underestimated her, it seemed. Helen used that to her advantage, grabbing a thread of energy with each hand, pulling on the power with a force that brought an expression of panic to the Deceiver’s face. The energy filled Helen, sending a hum of pleasure through her limbs. All at once, it snapped out of the Deceiver and into Helen, thrusting her back against Carlston. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, dissipated into the air like it never existed.  
A ghostly buzz filled Helen’s body as she brought herself back to her feet, dizzy with exertion. But one look at Carlston sent her back to her knees, frantically checking his pulse. His breathing was shallow, seemingly fading with every second that passed. Helen knew what she had to do. She took his hand in her own, her eyes closed in concentration, focusing on the bond they shared. Their heartbeats merged into one, their breathing matched, and Helen could feel their life force becoming one. It glowed bright around them, increasing in intensity until it was all she could see. Dots of black speckled her vision, and she saw the familiar figures of Darby and Quinn approaching just as the darkness overcame her.  
__________  
A movement beside her pulled Helen out of her memories. Startled back to reality, she was suddenly aware of her state of undress beneath the sheets. Shifting to face the source of the movement, Helen came face to face with Carlston, the fog of sleep still apparent in his squinting eyes. In her befuddled state, her mind drifted again.  
__________  
Helen awoke in the drawing room with Darby and Mr. Hammond staring over her with concern. Her head was pounding horribly and her limbs felt like jelly, but the relief on her friend’s faces was enough to make her smile faintly. A few more moments to orient herself to her surroundings, and she sat up.  
“My lady, you gave us quite a fright. You were in monster of a fugue,” her Terrene said breathlessly.  
“I knew there was something amiss about that informant,” Hammond muttered, his brow furrowed in distress. “If only we had been more careful, we could have prevented-”  
“We knew the risks, Mr. Hammond,” Helen cut him off, looking to the clock. It was past midday. How long had she been out? Her eyes drifted from the clock to the rest of the room- completely vacant besides those around her. “Where is Carlson?” she demanded.  
“Still unconscious, my lady,” Darby said, eyes downcast.  
“Take me to him,” she replied immediately, swinging her legs from the chaise to the ground. Hammond blanched at her movement.  
“It would be wiser to rest, Lady Helen. The Duke has been quite distraught. If he knew you were up and about…”  
“I’ll deal with the Duke later,” Helen insisted, rising to her feet. “Now take me to Lord Carlston.”  
Hammond relented, leading her upstairs to the room that Lord Carlston now occupied. The room was silent except for the ticking of a clock and Carlston’s steady breathing. He laid on top of the blankets, stripped of his boots and coat. Though he showed no signs of consciousness, he had obviously healed from his wounds, both internal and external. Helen felt drawn to his side, taking his hand as if she could wake him up with their touch. Ever since the bond, it always felt more comfortable to be near him, to be touching him. Hammond brought over a chair and left wordlessly, obviously sensing her desire to be alone. She stayed by Carlston’s side for hours, not leaving for a second. Lady Margaret brought her meals to Carlston’s room, always lingering with a gaze of concern for Lord Carlston and one of bitterness for Helen.  
It was late evening when he finally stirred, his eyes snapping open, immediately awake. He straightened himself up, eyes wandering until the landed on Helen. His expression softened at the realization of her hand on his, but it soon became guarded once more. He pulled his hand away cautiously. He had been distant like this ever since Helen’s engagement to the Duke, and each restrained glance made her heart ache.  
“How are you feeling?” she asked gently, breaking the awkward silence between them.  
“Quite recovered,” he replied simply. Helen began to reply, but Carlston spoke again. “I believe I owe you some thanks. I have very little memory of last night, but I can only imagine that I’m sitting here now because of you.”  
“You would have done the same for me,” Helen said, hating the reserved tone of her voice. There was so much more she wished to say, but she could not. For their own sakes.  
“Still. Exerting so much of your own life force could have killed you. You must be more careful,” he insisted, words filled with guarded sentiment.  
“You would have died. I’d take any chance to stop that from happening,” she replied, a lapse of constraint allowing the full fervor of her words to come through. A shadow of dilemma passed over Carlston’s face, his eyes fixing on Helen with unusual intensity. He took her hand, both their hearts skipping a beat as they pounded as one.  
“Why are we doing this to ourselves, Helen? We both know there’s no way out,” he said with a melancholy tone. Helen grasped his hand, eyes focused on the bedclothes.  
“I know. I know we should fight it, but…. I don’t want to,” she said, the words barely a whisper. Carlston said nothing. He leaned in, almost infinitely slow in comparison to their Reclaimer senses. They locked eyes, the sign of a decision in each gaze. Their lips connected, their physical bond matching that of their spirits. Carlston pulled Helen closer.  
__________  
Finally caught up with her memories, Helen took in her surroundings. The room, the clothes scattered about, the man she loved lying next to her, and the crippling realization that they had just made a very big mistake.


End file.
